What is a good working definition of "Postmodernity" for the undergraduate in Political Science? "Postmodernism?" What are the differences? This article provides a number of definitions designed to help faculty and undergraduates understand the terms "Postmodernity" and "Postmodernism." The purpose of the…

Structural questions about the undergraduate political science major have spurred debates in the field for more than thirty years. Today, resurgent growth of unusually sharp threats to American democracy fuel familiar curricular questions with new urgency. However, the combined effects of inertia, bureaucratic hurdles, and resource constraints…

This article presents a teaching case study of a semester-long progression of engaged learning activities in an introductory American politics course. The method enhances a traditional democratic participation assignment with authentic social network engagement. Students in the course selected democratic actions from a menu. Actions involved…

Middle East studies, and in particular the study of the politics of the Middle East stands at a crossroads pedagogically a decade after the Arab Spring. This study observed an experimental pre- or partial Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) engagement between Political Science students in New Zealand and the Sultanate of Oman to…

Anecdotal evidence suggests pedagogy research on simulations in political science is dominated by two subfields: International Relations and Comparative Politics. This belief may stem from the widespread use of things like Model United Nations and Model Arab League or the popular game Statecraft. While some other subfields, notably public law,…

In a highly polarized political environment, political discourse on divisive topics is all the more important. Heeding the many calls for higher education to teach political discourse skills, this study investigates the impact of political discourse lessons in a college-level, political science classroom. Further, it explores the effectiveness of…

While voter turnout is often seen as one definitive aspect of civic engagement, this paper argues that there are more nuanced ways to reflect on the impact of service-learning experiences on students' environmental awareness and environmentally responsible behavior changes. Using course evaluation qualitative comments in environmental…

Given the increasing prevalence of podcast listening, especially among young adults with college education, it is important to consider how student-produced podcasts can impact the student experience in the classroom, contribute to a more participatory course, and help achieve learning objectives. To engage these issues, this article reflects on…

While the model of deliberative democracy gives a crucial role to dialog, empirical evidence has not yet established if discussion helps to reach a better understanding of political issues and, above all, if individuals are prepared to change their views. It is still unclear when the deliberative model, and more specifically discussion, could be…

Satirical news shows such as "The Daily Show" are popular with students, but are they appropriate for classroom use? In this two-group, pretest-posttest study, I examine differences in engagement, political knowledge, and political attitudes between two American Government classes: one assigned to watch "The Daily Show" and the…

This article outlines a semester-long advocacy project that walks students through the steps to develop a successful advocacy campaign, culminating in a trip to the state capitol to "lobby" legislators. The manuscript provides faculty with the basic structure for the project and suggests gradable assignments. The project builds on the…

This study examines the impact of using Twitter in the classroom on student political efficacy, interest, and engagement. Millennials use the virtual world to build social relationships and to obtain information. By envisioning the virtual world as a means to increase civic engagement, political science instructors can use technology to draw upon…

While the effects of simulation-based courses on the knowledge of participating students may be marginal in relation to standard lecture and discussion-based courses, this article argues that the greatest leverage is gained by increasing participating students' level of interest in the subject of study and in politics more broadly. Participants…

In an effort to promote learning in classrooms, political science instructors are increasingly turning to interactive teaching strategies--experiments, simulations, etc.--that supplement traditional lecture formats. In this article, I advocate the use of student-generated data as a powerful teaching tool that can be used in a variety of ways to…

Sexual orientation continues to be an explosive issue in American classrooms. Increasing the political knowledge of students can reduce the volatility of this explosive issue by increasing tolerance toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. This relationship between political knowledge and political tolerance has been…